


crowned confusion

by clickingkeyboards



Series: filling in the blanks [3]
Category: High Class Homos (Webcomic)
Genre: Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Gay Character, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Trans Character, Confusion, Crushes, Everyone Is Gay, Except Lucas (and Marla because we aren't erasing bisexuals today), Fluff, Gossip, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-06-25 11:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clickingkeyboards/pseuds/clickingkeyboards
Summary: "Don’t complain: it won’t surprise me if you shoot up the ranks even faster now you’ve got a direct line to the prince’s sensibilities."Lucas knows that Percy has a crush on his tutor. Lucas knows that Percy's tutor is Prince August. It takes a while for him to make the connection."This is not how promotions work, Perce! You’re supposed to go from lieutenant to captain to major commander to master commander to general, not from lieutenant to captain to major to commander to the prince’s fancy man!"Set in the background to fill in scenes between part twelve and part twenty.





	crowned confusion

Commander Percival was not a fan of the local tavern.

This was a well-known fact and one which made him the subject of much ribbing.

When he first stepped into his uniform, a young and blue-haired knight as enthusiastic as Percy himself flung an arm over his shoulders and dragged him to the tavern to celebrate his employment.

The night had been… eventful.

As he didn’t drink often, Percival was susceptible to whatever was in the glasses Lucas plonked down on the table in front of him. Combined with him attempting to prove himself by matching the pace Lucas drank at, he had ended the night passed out on his bed with Lucas teasing him for his drunkenness.

The next day began with a drowsy late start, with Percy ill and hunched over a pail. The rest of the day wasn’t much better: an awkward recount of the previous night and a laceration during training which put him off any further alcohol consumption.

Every time Luca mentioned an excursion to the tavern thereafter, he would recall that horrifying hangover and decline with a well-crafted excuse.

One night, Lucas was heading out with some other knights for no particular reason. After explaining that August had tasked him with reading a particular fairytale, he saw off the other knights and settled down on his bed to read.

_“You’ll love it, Commander,” August had assured him. “It’s shocking in some places, that I will grant you. However, I’m sure that both of us will relate to the characters in some ways.”_

_Percy nodded, peering at the cover of the book. “It looks interesting, Your Highness!”_

_“Call me August,” he reminded the knight, picking up the book and handing it to him. Percy felt as if a witch had struck him with a curse when their hands brushed._

_Their eyes locked, and the prince smiled to comfort Percy, as if assuring him he was free to keep looking if he so desired. The look warmed him from his fingertips until his entire body felt saturated with a blush. “Thank you,… August.”_

Prince August was unpredictable. It was the sort of unauthorised book the prince would hide away under his bed, away from his father, the sort an author would write, print, and distribute, in secret. However, he couldn’t deny that the story was intriguing. It detailed the story of a young prince who fell crown over cloak for a common farmer boy, along with the descriptions which made Percy blush and read through his fingers as if that made it less shocking. Could it be a signal? A clue about a crush? As obvious as it was that the prince was something other than heterosexual based on the trouble he must have gone to just to get that book in his possession, it didn’t mean that Percy had his attention. There were a lot of cute young men in the kingdom and there was no rule that dictated he had to have eyes for the only one he interacted with.

Eager to find out if the prince confessed to the farmer, Percy trawled through the first chapter over several hours, making neat marks under words he couldn’t understand, just as August had instructed him. The word ‘infatuated’ appeared a lot, along with ‘admired’. He supposed the book would make more sense once he knew what those words meant. Once he reached the end of the first chapter, Percy dropped off to sleep with the book still in his hands. 

The door slammed open and Percy groaned, sitting up and setting the open book on his chest aside. “What time is it?” he grumbled, turning his face into his pillow once he realised who they were.

“One in the morning!” one knight replied, throwing himself down on his bed and giggling as if he was a madman. “You won’t believe the girls that were there!”

“That’s lovely, Ethan,” Percy said through gritted teeth. “Now, would you give me the absolute pleasure of—”

Before he could fit in the words ‘some silence around here’, Lucas peered over into his bunk, cheeks flushed and hair slick with sweat. “I thought that was your tutor’s job, Perce!”

Percy, too irritated to give much thought to his actions, reached out and yanked on Lucas’ hair. “Shut up, Lucas!” Raising his voice to address the shocked knights, he said, “He is a fan of making jokes about homosexuality when he is drunk.”

The chatter in the room rose to a cacophony of indistinguishable yelling, each knight taking delight in detailing things that women (and men, to Percy’s shock) had done to them.

Furious, he rolled back over and squashed his second pillow over his head. Perks of being a commander: more blankets and pillows.

His attempt to sleep was fruitless. After ten minutes, he sat up, took a deep breath, and bellowed, “Get the fuck to sleep this instant or you’ll all be out of a job tomorrow morning!”

Percy slept easy that night.

* * *

The following morning found the commander in a better mood. For much of breakfast, he babbled to Lucas about the book August had leant him, asking what different words meant and what a ‘fond’ look meant.

“I think ‘fond’ means loving. I mean, ‘loving’ isn’t the way I would describe how some knights were looking at the maids last night but that’s the textbook definition,” Lucas said as he picked at the food.

“What happened with Ethan and the maid?” Percy asked, sitting forward in interest. 

Lucas launched into an account of the night while the younger laughed along.

“What happened after that?” he asked as he retrieved the clunkier pieces of armour from underneath the table and put them on. “It can go either of two ways and I’m guessing it wasn’t the way it seems because Ethan got back to the lodgings last night.”

“Pity you didn’t see his shoulder this morning! He has a fabulous bruise from the beer bottle she threw,” Lucas replied, waving his spoon around and allowing himself to descend into thought as Percy processed the entire story Lucas had told him. There was a lot of silence in their friendship. Percy was somebody who needed to process everything at length to gain a complete understanding and it paid off: it left him with a detailed recollection of every piece of information somebody told him. Perhaps it was what made him such a fantastic commander.

How odd this all is, he thought as they started walking out the courtyard. All this promotion and rising through the ranks, all these new connections.

 _I don’t even play an active role in my life,_ Lucas lamented. _Stuff just happens and I’m like “Oh, this is what we’re doing now? Okay!”_

A month ago, Lucas was in awe of the royal family and the visiting princess, the class and the grandeur of it all. However, all that was being rather upended at a rapid pace. His best friend being tutored by the prince, for pity’s sake! It was unbelievable. 

There were so many unrelated things to process. For one, there was Luna, a never-ending problem that he couldn’t tell anybody about. He had been planning to tell Percival, but he scored out that idea as soon as he revealed connections to the prince. As nice as August was, he would want to prosecute her.

Come to think of it, Percy’s life was becoming ever more twined with his own. He had invested himself in this crush Percy had on his tutor, which was an odd thing to invest himself in, and…

_The prince._

_It was the prince._

Lucas cursed himself for not realising sooner. He had three connections to make to figure out the situation, and he had only made two: the prince was tutoring Percy and Percy had a crush on his tutor. The third connection (Percy had a crush on the prince) remained unconnected. 

And on cue: “Do you reckon he likes me back?”

Lucas shot him a deadpan look and spoke in a calm tone. “He leant you a book that he obviously went to tonnes of trouble to get just so he could read about gay romance and you don’t think he’s gay?”

His thoughts were a different story: _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The prince, of all people? Fuck._

“When you put it that way, Lucas, I guess that it’s likely. However, gay doesn’t equal attracted to me,” he said. “Why couldn’t I be straight?”

“If you were straight, you wouldn’t have connections to the king because you wouldn’t have been so eager to get tutored,” he pointed out. “Don’t complain: it won’t surprise me if you shoot up the ranks even faster now you’ve got a direct line to the prince’s sensibilities.”

_The prince? Why did it have to be the fucking prince? The fucking prince, of all people. Why does the prince have to like him back?_

“I haven’t got a direct line to his… duh! This is ridiculous, Lucas.” He knotted his fingers into his undershirt and twisted it about until it hurt to have his hands caught up in it, oblivious to Lucas’ internal swearing festival.

A raised eyebrow notified him he had just embarrassed himself. “Did you say ‘dick’?”

“No?” he replied, confused as he cleared away his bowl. “When did it sound like I did?”

Making quotes with his fingers, Lucas said, “‘I haven’t got a direct line to his dick.’”

Flustered, Percy waved his arms before giving up and burying his face in his hands. “Oh god, no! No, that is not what I said, Lucas, oh my god.”

Couldn’t Percy go for one of the other knights? Half of them are gay and most of the other half are hormonal young men. He couldn’t pick one of them, could he? He had to shoot for the top of the royal food chain.

The blue-haired knight was cackling. “You get flustered so easy, Percy! Did you hear Roberts scrubbing his chain mail this morning?”

“That sounds like one of those euphemisms August was teaching me,” Percy commented. “But jokes aside, I heard him grumbling through the wall. What happened?”

“No, I shit you not, Perce! This dumbass knight who possesses more confidence than common sense walked up to the very married tavern owner and tried to seduce her!”

“How did she react?” Percy asked, eager to hear the ending. “She is one terrifying lady. Can’t have ended well for him.”

“He is cleaning beer from his chain mail as we speak!” Lucas replied with glee, glancing over at Percy to see him staring like a deer caught in headlights.

“What the hell are you looking at?” he asked, turning his head to see the prince with a quill tucked behind his ear, staring at a piece of paper.

“Oh, your knight in shining armour,” he said, as nonchalantly as he could manage.

“I’m his knight, idiot,” he said, the first joke Lucas had heard him make in a while.

Nodding a scholarly way, Lucas said, “Of course.” 

“Now, do you mind if I hide?” Percy mumbled, ducking behind him to avoid the prince’s gaze.

Lucas couldn’t blame him. Avoiding his crush was the bane of his existence. 

“Perce, don’t hide, you look suspicious!” he said, struggling to wriggle from the knight’s grip and force him into the sightline of his crush. He would never let it be said that he didn’t do his level best to get his friends the partners they wanted. 

“I’ve gone all red, Lucas!”

August turned and Lucas watched his face light up upon seeing Percy. “Commander Percival!” he yelled.

“Shit!” he hissed under his breath, peeking over Lucas’ shoulder at the prince. 

“Better say hi, Percy!”

“Wait, wait! Lucas, I’m not ready,” he stammered.

Lucas burst out laughing. “Stop being such a baby!” With a firm shove, he pushed Percy, so he was nose-to-nose with the prince.

He winked at Percy as he walked with August to his reading lesson, then turned around and spotted Marla.

He felt his cheeks colour as he started over, listening to Sapphia talking.

_Fuck. She’s getting married? To who? She’s spoken to three boys aside from the king while being here and - to make a list - one is her best friend, one is gay, and one is me and I know that I’m not getting married to her. That means that August is marrying her and that he doesn’t like Percy back. Oh god._

As he turned on his heel, ready to rush and tell Percy, he heard a phrase that caught his attention.

“Has he fake-proposed yet?”

A smirk dawned on Lucas’ face and he had to stuff a hand over his mouth to stop himself from cackling and whirling around in happiness. With a skip in his step and renewed purpose, he made his way towards the library.

* * *

“I’m not this busy because I want to be, Percival,” August admitted, glancing away, modest to a fault. He was as passionate about the topic as anything but determined not to show it for fear of appearing intense or weird.

“My father is getting older… sicker.” It ached to think about his father passing. The man had a powerful and imposing presence and as much as August hated his morals, he loved the man himself. The fact that he was almost awaiting his father’s death all for a shot at the crown made him feel disgusted at himself.

August pictured himself on his mother’s knee as she balanced his father’s oversized crown on his head and spoke to him of his future as king. According to her tall tales, “You’ll have a beautiful and loving wife with friends that will gossip to the death, a platoon of knights to wait on your hand and foot, and a beautiful kingdom to shape into your own.”

He supposed he had all those things: he had Sapphia, his fierce and beautiful best friend, Odette and Marla who most likely gossiped, and a small platoon of knights (Percival and Lucas). It was quite a small platoon - not enough for a revolution - but it would have to do for now. 

“I need to prove to him that I’m worthy of the crown. Then when I’m king, I can finally fix everything I hate about this kingdom.” He had become animated with his excitement, turning towards Percival and clasping his hands over the knight’s. He withdrew as fast as he could, thoughts swirling about his head of gay rights, racial equality, the rise of women in the workforce, housing the homeless population, and raising wages for all. Sapphia called him a social justice warrior. He called himself an optimist.

“You’re one to talk about being busy, though!” he said, rounding on the knight.

Percival sat in such a way that the light from the stained glass windows of the library caught his profile side-on. The commander always looked attractive and wore the look of excitement better than most, but the stained glass set all the colours of the rainbow tumbling over his face and through his curls. His green eyes were wide and he tilted his head as if he was a confused animal.

August reached up to cover his mouth in case was saying his thoughts about wanting to kiss Percy out loud. “You’re the youngest commander in our kingdom’s history. That takes dedication.”

The knight went pink with pleasure.

“W-well, sir, my accomplishments also came from necessity. I’m not that great.” _Necessity?_ “I wanted to support my family, but the regular knight’s salary wasn’t enough.”

August often forgot the plight of others, despite his social justice heart. He forgot others didn’t have something to fall back on and could fall into a rut without being able to get out. He forgot that others had it hard.

“So I pursued promotions like crazy! Becoming a commander wasn’t even on my mind,” he said, bashful to the point of bursting. “Turns out I’m a pretty good strategist in battle! Who knew?”

August recalled the last use of the kingdom’s forces: an allied kingdom had called on them for help and August had read the reports of Commander Percival at the forefront of the battle, of the torn tunics and superficial wounds and how he protected other knights. It was all much closer to home.

“I always knew! You’re awesome,” August crowed, drowsiness tugging at his tone until it swallowed his words after allowing him two sleepy chuckles.

He didn’t feel any embarrassment as his head lolled onto Percy’s shoulder. Percy, however, felt a lot.

_Shit. What do I do in this situation?_

Percy had turned around while reading and seen a shock of blue hair beside a shelf. If he was in luck, he was still there. 

“Lucas!”

The young man in question poked his head around to see what was happening and burst out laughing. 

Once he had calmed down enough to form whispered words, he hissed, “This one?”

Shamefaced, Percy nodded, face turning a shade of scarlet Lucas didn’t think possible.

He noted that the prince’s hand was resting on his friend’s waist. It appeared Percy hadn’t noticed because it was difficult to detect light pressure through the uniform, and Lucas didn’t point it out for fear the commander would faint on the spot.

“You can certainly pick ’em, Perce!” he said, rolling his eyes.

“It isn’t my fault!”

“And the worst part is, he likes you back, it’s obvious,” he continued, voice rising in volume as he spoke. “This is not how promotions work, Perce! You’re supposed to go from lieutenant to captain to major commander to master commander to general, not from lieutenant to captain to major to commander to the _prince’s fancy man_!”

“The word is suitor! Also, shush!” he hissed, holding his arms. “And I ain’t his suitor, anyway. I’m his friend.”

“Ever heard of friends with benefits?” he said as he started to walk away.

Percy squinted. “Where are you going? Aren’t you going to help me?”

“Have fun, Percy!”

The commander glowered as the blue-haired knight vanished among the bookshelves. Still, it wasn’t all bad. August let out a content noise and curled his body into Percy’s side, and it was all far too domestic for his taste.

He felt his eyelids grow heavy. Maybe sleeping a little wouldn’t be so bad.

* * *

All the other knights knew that Percy and Lucas had a secret that they weren’t planning on revealing. They would sit among the other knights but whisper across the table in low tones. It made them look suspicious but they would never question superior knights.

However, some knights couldn’t resist listening to the conversations and would pick up details. They were discreet because they knew people listened in, so all they would hear was two knights gossiping about the prince.

However, Percy one day skipped the usual pleasantries and slipped a note to Lucas, a way of practising his improving writing skills.

In large but uniform letters, as if he was joining the dots in a children’s’ book on learning how to write, he had scrawled, _Do you want two go on a picnick tooday?_

“You want us to skip work for a picnic?” he hissed. “Why?”

He shrugged, smile laced with mystery. “I need a break and I thought you, Odette, and Marla could use one.”

He smirked. “I’ll help you steal some food. Anybody else tagging along I should know about?”

“One or two people.”

_Who else does he speak to?_

* * *

The maids filtered out of their room to rush to their various duties, shooting piteous looks at the two maids slumped in bed with pails at the sides of their bunks.

Marla smirked as the door shut. “Never knew that you were such a good actress, Odette!”

Odette grinned. “Says you, I’ve never heard such convincing simpering at such incompetent maids.” Putting on a mocking tone, she said, “I know that you can take over from Odette and me, Ellie! You’re so good at controlling everything when we aren’t around!”

Snickering, she sat up and swung her legs out of bed, jumping out and onto the floor. “Come on, you’ve got to admit I did it well.”

“I have to admit that,” she sighed, tugging her regular clothing out from where she had hidden it under her pillow. Hiding under her thin blanket, she took off her nightclothes and wriggled into her day clothes.

Marla emerged in a dark turquoise blouse and dark skirt, gesturing to Odette to follow her out the back door. Dragging a brush through her hair a few times, she slipped out the door behind Marla. “Lucas! Percy!” she whispered, and the two knights crept out from where they were hiding around the side of the building.

Lucas smiled at Marla, bowing his head in the usual way he did to greet her. Laughing, she pulled him into a hug from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. “Hey, Lucas! Haven’t seen you in a while!”

“Hey, Marla!” he said, squeezing her hand and letting her release him from the hug.

“Lucas,” Percy hissed, tugging on his white shirt. “I thought you ought to know you’re blushing. You’re fluorescent!”

His eyes grew wide as he attempted to think of things that would make this blush leave. “Cheers, dude. I’ll point out when you’re blushing around the prince.”

“Don’t both, I’ll be blushing all day,” he said, as blunt as he had ever been about his crush.

Winking, Lucas elbowed him and whispered, “You’ll floor the guy, don’t worry.”

While this was happening, Odette had pulled Marla aside to comment on her blush. “You don’t get feelings for your coworkers, huh? You’re getting pretty red-faced right now.”

“What? I’m not blushing! I don’t like Lucas. You are getting the wrong end of the stick,” she hissed, embarrassed as anything. “I am a very loyal lady!”

Odette smirked. “Your blush says otherwise. You should be pale; we are sick, after all!”

“You look nice today, Percy!” Marla said, ignoring Odette but smiling at her to let her know it wasn’t in ill will. “Dressed up for the princess?”

She wasn’t wrong. Percy was wearing clothes bright as anything but nicer than they typically saw him in and if Odette didn’t know him better, she would swear that he was wearing something in his hair to make it nicer. However, that would be ridiculous.

“Something like that,” he said, hiding a smile behind his hand. “Let’s get going!”

“Why’d you want to skip work all of a sudden?” Odette asked, leaning back against the rough wooden fence.

“I thought a certain someone could use a break!” he said, almost buzzing with excitement while awaiting whoever it was.

Someone? Odette wondered and glanced up to see the princess in disguise dragging someone in a pastel blue hoodie down the hill.

“Here they are now!” Percy said, with his arms tucked around the picnic basket.

Now Sapphia and the ‘stranger’ were standing in front of them, she realised the other person was the prince wearing a pastel blue hoodie and a shy smile.

“H-hello, everyone!” he greeted, his hands tucked behind his back.

Marla could have sworn that her heart stopped. Prince August was there? Was Sapphia trying to rat them out? What was going on?

“Prince August!” she yelped.

Both Lucas and Odette looked as terrified as she did, brows heavy with the threat of using their jobs.

“Oh my god, he caught us skipping work,” she said, a hand over her mouth.

Lucas was tugging on his shirt sleeves. “I’m gonna get fired.”

“Hey, guys… it’s okay,” he said, his facial expression turning sheepish. “I’m here to slack off too.”

“Prince August was the ‘certain someone’ I was talking about!” Percy said, excitement radiating off of him as he gestured to him. The two of them exchanged a look that screamed happiness and Odette leant over to Lucas.

“We are one hundred percent sure that they’re not dating, right?” she asked in a whisper.

Lucas shrugged. “I’m not even sure if they know that they’re not dating. If they are, it’s unofficial.”

Odette nodded, following his train of thought. “You’d think he would tell you if he was fucking the prince.”

“Nobody said anything about fucking!” Lucas yelped, which made Odette burst out laughing.

“Are they…?” August asked Percy, leaning over to whisper and gesturing between Odette and Lucas.

Percy shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m sure you know this but, even though Lucas is straighter than the points on the king’s crown, Odette is gay.”

“That’s a phrase people use?”

He raised his eyebrows. “What phrase?”

“What you just said: ‘straighter than the points on the king’s crown’. People say that?” he asked, curious about the common vernacular.

“The phrase is ‘sharper than the points on the king’s crown’ but I adapted it.”

“Sharper as in?” he questioned.

“As in clever.”

Marla’s eyes snapped up to Sapphia. “You’re wearing the necklace I won for you at the fair?” she asked, darting over to take it in her hands and make sure it was the same one.

“Y-yeah. It means a lot to me,” Sapphia stammered, embarrassed by the close contact.

With a voice brimming with love, Marla said, “I win another one for you if you want.”

Sapphia giggled, laying her hand over where Marla’s rested on the necklace. “Yes please. Your hair looks so pretty like that.” With one hand, she brushed through the maid’s ponytail, admiring the style.

With a voice so simpering Odette felt sick, Marla said, “Aw, babe!”

Before her brain could catch up with her mouth, she blurted, “Let’s get going,” in a tone so harsh it was noticeable to everybody.

Percy adjusted his tunic and gestured for the group to walk.

“I like your tunic!” he blurted without acknowledging what Percy said about the odd commoner-ism of comparing things to the king’s crown.

August felt Sapphia and Lucas’ eyes snap onto them to watch their conversation.

“Oh. Thank you, Your Highness! Lucas told me this morning that I look as colourful as a butterfly.” To explain the description, he added, “I’m not sure if it was a compliment because he was also telling me about how brightly coloured bugs are like that to ward off predators. Then he told me that, in my case, it’s bound to ward off anybody interested in me.”

Lucas grinned. “Stop ratting me out to royalty, dude! You look like an eyesore, though.”

“I think he looks good,” August blurted, cringing at how forward it was.

Lucas could see the cogs turning in Percy’s brain as he calibrated a response. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he managed. “I think you look good too.”

“Ta-da!” Percy announced as they reached the spot he had set out on top of the hill.

* * *

Sapphia squealed (though she would deny it later), while August said, “Wow, Percival! This is a great spot. And quite the trek from the knights’ quarters too, when did you set this up?”

“I did not appreciate waking up at ass o’clock this morning to do that,” Lucas said, teasing Percy as usual.

Percy smiled at him. “You weren’t complaining then, Lucas.”

The other knight made a rude gesture in his direction.

“Come sit down guys!” Percy said, holding up the basket he had been carrying. “I stole enough food from the kitchen for everyone!”

“You did _what_ now?” Odette gasped, aghast that Percy would dare to steal food that she and Marla had prepared the night before.

He had the decency to look the tiniest bit sheepish under her glare.

“I brought refreshments!” Lucas announced, picking up a bottle he had hidden behind the tree when he and Percy set up the blanket earlier.

“Is that alcohol?” Odette asked, suspicion in her voice.

“Maybe,” he said, turning it over so they could see the label.

Sapphia chuckled as if conspiring in some plan. She had never met this knight before, as he was one of a grand four boys she had spoken to since arriving. He seemed cool if the alcohol was any sign and judging by the subtle nudges and comments she had seen him making on the walk up, he was knowledgeable about whatever Percy felt for August. “I like you,” she said.

The six of them sat down on the blanket laid out, Sapphia taking a seat beside Lucas. He was a pleasant person to talk to, sarcastic as anything with an expression on his face that suggested he knew more than he was letting on.

At some point, the conversation turned to fairytales.

“Is the book you gave me a traditional fairytale, Your Highness?” Percy asked.

August’s face turned white. “Oh… no, it isn’t, Percival. I got it while travelling to another kingdom with my father… and my mother.” He swallowed down whatever emotion came with that phrase. “None of the others will know that story and it people don’t commonly sell it due to the… shocking content.”

Sapphia realised as August was talking that he was avoiding announcing to the group that he had loaned Percival a gay love story. Swooping into save him, she said, “What traditional fairytales _have_ you read, Commander?”

“Uh… one about a girl imprisoned in a tower with the longest hair ever! Well, I didn’t read it myself. August read most of it to me because the words were too difficult,” he said, excited about the story he had read.

“You liked that one!” August agreed. “Didn’t you say somebody should make a musical performance of it?”

He nodded. “I liked the horse in the story. It reminded me of my old horse. Lucas, you know the horse I rode on when we were charging to protect the other kingdom?”

Lucas nodded. “The one you named even though I told you not to because you’d get attached? Yes, I remember.”

Deciding to change the subject as it was leaping from uncomfortable topic to uncomfortable topic (avoiding gay love stories to August’s mother to charges in battle), Sapphia said to Lucas, “What stories did you read as a kid, then?”

He frowned. “Uh… I always preferred the… the stories meant for girls when I was younger.”

“Really? Wouldn’t pick you as the type, Lucas!” Marla said, grinning over at him.

Percy took a breath while he processed why Lucas was uncomfortable. He preferred girls’ stories when he was younger? _Oh, that made sense._

“Same,” Percy said, smiling at Lucas. “I preferred the more girlish stories too.”

“Those stories describe people better,” Sapphia agreed. “Such beautiful descriptions of girls! It’s like they were raising me to be a lesbian.”

“Being raised to admire cute girls? Cheers to that, Sapphia!” Lucas said, raising his goblet to hers.

She reached over and clinked her goblet against his. “Cheers!”

Odette looked over to Marla, saying, “Reckon Lucas has the same taste in girls as Sapphia? They read the same fairytales!”

Marla’s eyes grew wide. “Odette, no! I’m a very loyal lady!”

Overhearing the joking, Sapphia choked on her drink and August chuckled. He could almost get comfortable being a commoner if this was the conversation it entailed day to day.

* * *

“Sapphia, you’re from the kingdom of Mytilene, right?” Lucas asked, leaning back on his hands and taking a sip of wine. “Why do you spend so much time here?”

Finishing a gulp of wine, she nervously chuckled and said, “Well, my kingdom is a lot stuffier than it is here, so I like to stay whenever I can.”

“It’s worse than _here_?” Odette exclaimed, gawking at the princess. There was no way that any kingdom could be worse that the oppressive stereotypes of their kingdom, where everybody was assumed and nearly forced to be straight and cisgender.

August looked sorrowful. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Even I couldn’t handle all the rules.”

Percy perked up, sensing a story. “So you’ve been to Mytilene, Your Highness?”

“A few times, actually,” he said, turning to Percy. “Her parents threw this fancy ball…”

Sapphia smiled fondly at the memory.

* * *

She had traipsed up to the upper balcony ten minutes into the ball and some boy around her age seemed to have followed her up. His hair was auburn, his eyes were dark, and he seemed keen to be anywhere but where he was. He wasn’t talking to her, which was strange. He seemed to just be sharing the space with her without acknowledging her presence.

When he leaned on one hand and sighed, she had to speak up. “Party too boring for you?”

Surprised at being addressed, he stalled before answering. “It’s not that. Big parties just aren’t my strong suit.” After a pause, he said, “How about you? Why are you up here?”

The reminder of the young man she was trying so hard to get away from made her gut swim with fury. “I’m avoiding someone,” she said, glaring down at the green-haired man dancing with some young woman. All she felt was sick anxiety. Then she collected herself. Why was she telling this random young man about the thing that had been plaguing her life for what was close to years?

“Plus, I didn’t plan on talking to _any_ suitors tonight.” She was proud of the evil glare she paired the phrase with.

The look on his face was reminiscent of all the times people had caught Sapphia flirting with girls. “Oh! Don’t worry, you’re ah… not my type.”

“Oh.” Was there anything more to say to that? He seemed to be cutting off the conversation before it could progress any further into romance. Could he be engaged already?

 _No_ , she decided. _That’s not possible. There’s no ring in sight; he isn’t wearing it on a chain, and they would have invited me to his wedding._

The more she thought, the less it made sense. _If he was engaged or in love, he wouldn’t look so affronted by the question. He wasn’t chasing after anybody that night and every lady a straight young man could desire attended that ball. Could he be…_

“What would you say _is_ your type, then?” she asked, conversing with a boy for the first time since she and Nicolosi had stopped speaking as friends.

Upon studying his face further for something other than a possible threat, she realised who he was. Prince August. She had met him once before when they were children. Their parents held a dinner to negotiate trade between their kingdoms and she and August hadn't been allowed to speak. As a consequence, the children had spent the better part of three hours mouthing across the table at each other and kicking each other in the shins.

The look of fear returned and August felt his cheeks flush. _Dangerous question, princess,_ he thought.

After an awkward chuckle, he said, “I have an… unconventional taste in partners.”

Her heart leapt. _He’s like me,_ she realised with bubbling joy and she couldn’t stop the grin creeping on her face.

Sticking out her gloved hand, she introduced herself. “I’m Sapphia. And for the record, I have a strange taste in partners as well.”

August seemed to have the same realisation. Sapphia had read plenty of books and had never understood somebody’s face ‘lighting up’ until that moment. It was as if seeing the sun rise behind somebody’s eyes.

_She’s… like me?_

He took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

“Y’know,” Sapphia commented as she settled back into looking over the room. “This would actually be a pretty romantic spot for everyone else.”

August snorted in an undignified manner. “Yeah. Too bad it’s just us.”

They looked at each other and grinned.

* * *

“Long story short, we hit it off as friends,” August told Percival, who was listening attentively. Sapphia couldn’t blame the commander: her best friend was an amazing storyteller.

 _He was the first person I met who was like me,_ Sapphia thought, feeling a sudden rush of affection for her best friend, a sudden need to tackle him in a hug, press her face into his shoulder and relish the fact that she knew him. He was feeling the same, judging by the enormous grin he was shooting her way.

“Wow, sir, that is so cool!” Percy said, and August smiled shyly at him.

The two of them made eye contact, prince and princess, future husband and wife, and smiled.

_The first person to make me feel… normal._

* * *

“Oh, man, I have to go set up for the ball soon,” August groaned, adjusting his outfit and getting ready to make his way back.

While Sapphia rolled her eyes, the four commoners exchanged eye contact. _Who’s going to object?_

“Sir, with all due respect, you can afford to take a day off,” Percy blurted. “You’ve still got several days to spare.”

“Oh! Speaking of the ball!” Sapphia said, grabbing Marla by one hand. “Would you like to go as my date?”

August let out a breath, relieved that she hadn’t announced his plans to ask the commander to dance.

“It would be unofficial, of course, and we’d have to keep things low-key, but I think it would be fun,” the princess said, her nerves getting the better of her as she fiddled with her hair. “Whaddaya say?”

“Of course I’ll go with you!” Marla exclaimed.

Odette scowled. _Don’t get jealous, Odette,_ she told herself. _Be happy for her_.

Sapphia noticed the scowling maid and felt her heart drop. _Oh no, she’s totally mad at me. does she think I’m boasting about my rank again? Or maybe she’s still uncomfortable from that time I flirted with her?_

Lucas, who was sitting outside of any conversation and observing what was going on, saw that obvious truth. Odette _liked_ the princess and was bitter about not being invited, but Sapphia was fretting about somehow upsetting her.

He was only studying the conversation to avoid jumping in on what was going on beside him. Even though it called for his input, he had seen the opportunity for Percy to speak to the prince and claimed a sudden headache. Concerned, August had suggested that he sit quietly for a minute and see if that improved his condition, and then started to talk to Percy.

“Commander Percival,” August said, running on a burst of confidence.

“Yes, Your Highness?” he asked.

August moved slightly closer to him, saying, “As you’re the youngest commander in history and also a… a good friend, would you like to attend the ball? You’re an asset to the kingdom, Percival. I’d love to see you there.”

With a frown, he said, “I don’t know, sir. I’m… there’s sure to be a whole lot of high-class people and, well, I’m not! I don’t do well in situations like that, especially when I don’t know anybody.”

The prince laid an awkward hand on his shoulder. “They aren’t my strong suit either, Percy.”

 _Percy?_ the knight thought. _From Commander to Percy?_

“Besides,” he continued, “I’ll be there for most of the night. I suppose it will be quite hard for me to get away to speak to you, though.”

After a moment of thought, he said, “Lucas?”

“Yeah?”

“How would you like to attend the ball?” he asked.

Lucas grinned. “That’d be wicked! Is Perce going?”

With a smile, Percy nodded. “As long as you are, Lucas!”

Silently congratulating himself, August said, “I’ll see you there, Commander?”

Percy nodded. “I’ll see if I can remember how to dance.”

Deciding to make a somewhat risky comment, August asked, “Who will you be dancing with?”

Lucas nodded at Percy, which gave him the confidence to say, “You’ll hear me ask him at the ball, sir.”

_I really want to make it up to her, somehow._

“Odette?” she blurted. “You’re invited too, you know. Since we are friends now.”

Odette felt her stomach turn a somersault. _Friends?_

“Well, that is nice of you, I suppose,” she said in a grumbly voice while thinking, _I don’t want to be just friends._

“We should head into the town soon! I wanna buy stuff!” Sapphia announced, unaware of the awkwardness she had just caused.

“Hang on, let me pack up real quick,” Percy said, starting to fold and roll the blanket. He packed up the remaining food and held out the bottle. “Lucas, you take _your_ alcohol!”

He laughed and said, “Someone ought to sort out August, he looks a little too prince-like.”

Percy jumped to his feet. “Your Highness, come over here.”

Awkwardly, August complied and didn’t regret it, as Percy spent several minutes adjusting each article of his clothing to fit in with how commoners wore their clothes, though he refrained from adjusting the prince’s trousers.

Sapphia made eye contact with Lucas and nodded towards the pair. He nodded back and winked at her, which only confirmed her suspicions that he knew something.

* * *

In the market, Sapphia and August slunk off to a corner, Sapphia grabbing his hand and demanding to know _everything_ he had spoken to the commander about.

“I took a chance and asked who he’d be dancing with and he said, ‘You’ll hear me ask him at the ball, sir.’ It was suggestive but… does that mean he likes me? Saph, I’m so confused!”

He flopped his head onto her shoulder and she laughed. “Dammit, August, you’re so dense! Grow a pair and ask him out, already!”

“Maybe after the ball,” he said, and she nodded. With her best friend being so shy, she could work with that.

"Woman up and you'll get your man," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"Woman up?" he questioned. "Why not man up?"

"You tried 'manning-up' before and that didn't get you with him. I 'womaned-up' and I've got Marla so maybe if you follow my example, you'll get the commander."

"You, Sapphia," he said with a laugh, "Are ridiculous."

* * *

Odette couldn’t believe that she and Marla were interacting after the previous day. “Go on, Odette!” she shouted, and the cheers from her best friend spurred her on to burst the balloon she had missed four times. For her troubles, the stall owner presented her with a small toy: a green bird.

Marla grinned and bumped her hip. “Nice one, Odette!”

“You’re a good friend, Marla.”

Surprised by the compliment, she said, “Oh… thank you, Odette! You’re a good friend, too.”

Feeling safe enough to make a joke about Marla’s relationship status, she said, “You’re bi, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “That I am. Why?”

“Why don’t you have Lucas and I can have Sapphia?” she suggested, her voice as deadpan as she could make it.

Marla wheezed with laughter, knowing that Odette was only kidding. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, wiping away a tear of laughter. “Then August can have whoever he hooks up with and… who do we put Percy with?”

Odette looked at her as if she was an idiot. “Percy and August, you idiot!” she hissed, careful not to be too loud about it.

Marla exhaled in relief. “Okay, good. The lack of comments made me think I was the only one who saw it.”

“I’d make you get your eyes tested if you didn’t,” she said.

Rolling her eyes, she said, “I’ll put you on dish duty.”

Everything in the world felt okay again.

* * *

“Are you having fun, sir?” Percy asked as the group met up in the centre of the market again.

Surprised that he had addressed him, August blustered and said, “Yes, I am. Thank you, Percy.”

“Where to next?” Lucas asked, peering about the market stalls.

As they were talking, Sapphia noticed a lump of fabric attached to the wall like a limpet. Upon closer inspection, she realised that it was a woman around her own age: dirty, tired, and tucked inside a dark cloak.

Odette noticed that Sapphia was silent and searched for the cause, only to find it was a homeless person.

_Poor lady…_

“What’s wrong?” she said aloud, thinking Sapphia would think her knowledgeable if she acted unbothered. “You’ve never seen a homeless person before?”

“No!” she admitted, growing increasingly stressed as she imagined the horrors the poor woman would go through to live. “I’m not allowed out much, back at home.”

Odette could only watch and wonder what on earth she was thinking as the princess crouched down in front of the bundle of the cloak.

“Here you go,” she said, offering out the basket containing the uneaten food from the picnic. Then she panicked. What if people gave homeless people loads, and they expected more than a measly basket of food? “I know it’s not much, but please take it!”

After a pregnant pause, the woman croaked out, “Thank you.”

Sapphia raised a hand and said, “Well, um… see ya!” before scampering off.

Lucas caught sight of the girl Sapphia was interacting with, heard her voice and felt her pain. Oh god. _Oh god._ It couldn’t be, could it?

_“That fairytale was so boring. I don’t want to be a princess,” she complained, kicking up her bare feet onto the wall._

_After a pause, Lucas said, “I don’t want to be one either.”_

_“I want to be a witch,” she said, and Lucas took the leap of faith._

_“I want to be a prince.”_

_This only excited her, as she grabbed his hands and pushed her face close to his. “If I become a witch when I’m a grown-up, I’ll help you become a prince.”_

_“Deal.”_

If only he hadn’t ever said that.

_“Luna! I need your help. Please, I’m begging you. Remember what I wanted when we were small…” He was begging, almost on his knees and in tears. It was the only thing he had asked of her and if she would do it..._

_She beamed and grabbed his hands. “I can help you become a prince.”_

_“How?” He wiped away the tears._

_Bouncing, she told him, “I will learn spells. I want to help you…”_

_“Lucas.” His name. It felt odd to say it aloud, and it would be even odder if she called him it._

_“Lucas, I want to help you. I’ll learn spells and I’ll break the law. I’ll do everything I can, okay? I want you to feel okay inside your skin, Lucas.” She pulled him into a tight hug and released him so she could look him in the eyes._

_Concerned for what being a witch could bring them, he said, “Don’t go full witch, okay? Then I won’t be able to see you.”_

_“I promise that I won’t.”_

He shuddered at the memory. That promise was the worst decision of his life.

_“Lucas, isn’t it?”_

_He nodded, turning to the new knight he had got drunk the night before. “Percival!”_

_“I heard the oddest thing from Odette! There’s a witch out there wanted in twenty-seven kingdoms and it’s said that she started out her spell-casting to help somebody!”_

_Lucas spluttered on the water he was drinking._

_“I know! What crap, right? Witches can’t have good motives_ _,” Percy said, laughing and sitting down beside him._

_“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice shaky. “What utter hogwash.”_

Lucas sighed as he looked on at the figure hunched in the cloak. _My witch can have good motives._

Odette huffed. “Lucas!” she yelled.

Shaken from his moment of thought, he shouted, “Coming!” and bolted off after the group.

He never saw her take her hood down.

* * *

Even though there were two new additions to his friendship group and Percy now knew his secret, Lucas had never felt more at home. The princess was bright and blended into the environment just like a commoner would. The prince was a warm and welcoming presence amongst the group, keeping such a cool demeanour about everything that his blush wasn’t the first thing Lucas noticed.

Even seeing Luna couldn’t dampen his spirits.

August wielded daggers with such a lack of control that Lucas snatched them from his hands and placed them back down on the stand. He obliged in holding dresses for Marla as she held them up against herself and asked him what he thought, helped Odette out on a game that involved locking down cans, and he spied on August and Percy from afar, along with Sapphia.

“What are you looking at?”

Lucas jumped, then nodded towards the prince and the commander. “Watching this shit play out.”

“You tipsy?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Nah. I can hold my alcohol, Sapphia.”

“Not so loud!”

“Sorry! But… you know, a brother’s got to look out for a brother, you know?” With an uncomfortable shift, he looked down at the ground.

“Boys,” she huffed.

“Hey!” he objected, though the word sent a thrill through his stomach.

Becoming more comfortable talking to Lucas, she said, “Seen anything noteworthy happen so far?”

“Not much.”

The boys in question were admiring books displayed on a stand. Being a stand in the village, there were far more books akin to the one the prince had leant the commander.

“Are you enjoying the book I loaned you?” August inquired. As the commander couldn’t see, he cast a fond look to Percy admiring the bright art on the cover of a book he had picked up.

“Oh, yes!” he replied, nodding earnestly. “Does he say it by the end? I also have some questions about words.”

“What are they?” August replied, ducking down his head as he passed over the books he intended to purchase.

“What does ‘infatuated’ mean?” he asked, struggling to fit his mouth around the unfamiliar words. “The sentence was ‘the prince’s infatuation with the common boy made the marriage problem worse’. Lucas helped me read it this morning, but he wasn’t very good at defining it.”

Smiling as he recalled when he had first read that bit himself, he said, “It means… infatuation means love. An intense love that creeps up on you and pounces when you least expect it.”

“You sound like you have experience, sir,” he joked, turning back to look at the stalls.

“Maybe I do,” he said, gazing at the commander as he admired a dagger. “Maybe I do.”

* * *

“We’re almost there, everyone!” August announced, making a theatrical gesture. “We should probably go in separately so we don’t arouse suspicion.”

_I’ve got to thank Percival._

“Percy and I can go in first,” Lucas said, not waiting for an argument because he was exhausted and wanted to collapse into bed.

Percy nodded, grinning and breezing past August, saying, “Goodnight, sir!”

_I’ve got to thank Percival._

Without realising that he was about to do the kind of impulsive thing he so often chastised Sapphia for doing, he grabbed onto Percy’s gloved hand and blurted, “Commander, wait.”

Percy turned his head, looking startled but not letting go of his hand. August gulped. He had not planned this thank you at all.

“I, uh, wanted to thank you,” he stammered.

“F-for what, sir?” He was still holding August’s hand.

With his eyes ducked down to the ground, he said, “For bringing me out here. Sapphia told me this was your idea. With the ball coming up, I’ve been really stressed. You were right about me needing a break. So… thank you.”

He thought it was reasonably coherent for an impromptu speech.

Percy could only note the bright blush on August’s cheeks. “I-it’s no problem!” he stammered, sure he was blushing himself. “Hope you had fun, see you tomorrow!”

Lucas huffed a laugh and clapped Percival on the back. “Dude, you’re awkward.”

“Damn! I panicked,” he hissed to Lucas, who snorted and looked over his shoulder to see the prince gawking over at them, holding the hand he had grabbed Percival’s with in his other hand.

Now the day was over and the night had descended on them, Lucas felt the weight of seeing Luna settle on his shoulders like a tonne of bricks.

“Feeling okay?” Percy enquired, bumping his shoulder and smiling. “Are you stressed? Or is it your…” Not having the words to describe it, Percy tapped his own shoulder in the place that Lucas’ binder usually showed.

Shaking his head, Lucas said, “No, Percy.” Wanting to direct the conversation away from that, he said, “The ball. That’s an awesome opportunity, right?”

Percy nodded. “Right?! I can’t believe that August invited us.”

“ _I_ can’t believe you told him ‘you’ll hear me ask _him_ on the night, sir’! That was excellent!” Lucas jostled Percy in his excitement, pleased that his friend was getting so close to getting with the prince. “I’m sure he’ll know you’re interested now.”

“Ugh, can you stab me during training tomorrow before my reading lesson?” he groaned.

“No can do,” he said, shushing Percy as they snuck into their lodgings and got ready without making a sound.

Percy scaled the ladder, whispering, “Goodnight, Lucas!” before dropping off to sleep.

Pressing his hand to the wall beside the picture of Luna he had pinned up, he buried his head in his other hand and choked back a sob by biting his lip so hard it bled.

_Luna._

“Night, Percy…” he sighed, taking several heaving breaths and swallowing hard.

_Luna._

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and let me know what you thought of my writing!


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